You know you should be a good steward of the gifts God has given you: your time and talents and treasure. Are you a good steward of other people’s gifts? Should you be? If you’re a pastor or church staffRead more…

A picture really is worth a thousand words. We are visual learners, naturally, and more so as the internet and the hundreds of cable TV channels multiply what we can view on a screen. Good communicators are always on theRead more…

For many people in the church, the only thing to know about volunteers is how to recruit them — how to get them to serve where needed. Readers of this newsletter and TheEquipper website know that I advocate a muchRead more…

“Teams are a lot of work.” I sighed heavily with this guilty thought. I’ve promoted the value of teams for years, within and beyond my own church. But I was feeling more frustration than love at the moment. I wasRead more…

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So goes an old joke, making the point that even the biggest of tasks can be accomplished with first one step, then another and another . . . ChangingRead more…

I’ve Got a Question “From our database we can run a report finding that 590 people are currently assigned to a position. In order to get the percentage of people serving, what number do I compare that to? Should IRead more…

I know a thing or two about databases. I love how they organize information and the flexibility they offer over a spreadsheet; I can build a basic Access database. When I was hired as Director of Equipping People to ServeRead more…

When we hear about child sexual abuse in church settings, it turns the stomach and brings up both anger and fear. We can’t imagine it happening at our church, but burying our heads in the sand isn’t helpful. Churches alreadyRead more…

It’s budget time at our church; our fiscal year begins July 1. As church staff, I’ve done many annual budgets for Equipping, but this year was unique for me. Our budgets were to be based on our ministry goals forRead more…

I’ve been thinking of keeping a can of peaches and a head of lettuce in my office. Or bringing them to the next staff meeting. Or pulling them out the next time I talk to some ministry leaders about volunteers.Read more…

“I looked up and saw Joe, a 92-year old African-American man.” Both Joe and the speaker, John Greves, were working in the Community Garden project in Vancouver, Washington, across the Columbia River from Portland. “I thought of all this manRead more…

The Bible is one long story, the true story of God calling and caring for his people the Jews, God becoming human and dying, and God working among the early Christians. God’s story continues today. He continues to call, redeemRead more…

I’ve Got a Question. I am passionate about what I do and I always find volunteers. However, I feel at a loss because I haven’t found anyone to be “passionate” with me in a vision or direction. They all seemRead more…

I’ve Got a Question “Do you have a good contact/volunteer software program you could recommend?” From Beth in Wisconsin September 2010 Response Short answer: no, I don’t have a program I can recommend. Sorry. Longer answer: Our church was usingRead more…

When you realize you’ll need to recruit some volunteers, does your heart leap for joy? Or does your stomach get tied in knots? Most of us don’t enjoy finding people to teach Sunday School or help with the rummage sale.Read more…